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The aim of this study was to evaluate antimicrobial resistance in canine staphylococci, Escherichia coli and enterococci, which were isolated from 22 dogs with pyoderma and a history of previous antibiotic treatment, compared to bacterial isolates from 56 non-treated control dogs. Two isolates of each bacterial species per dog were investigated, if detected. Staphylococcal isolates from dogs with pyoderma (35 isolates) were more resistant to sulphatrimethoprim than the isolates from controls (56 isolates) (57% vs. 25%, p < 0.004). Multiresistance in staphylococci was also more common in dogs with pyoderma (29% vs. 9%, p = 0.02). A similar trend among isolates of E. coli was detected (24 and 74 isolates from treated and control dogs, respectively), but the differences were not significant. Resistance for macrolide-lincosamides was approximately 20% among staphylococci in both groups. Resistance to ampicillin among enterococci was 4%–7%. The age of the dogs might have an impact on resistance: multiresistance among staphylococcal isolates from younger dogs (≤5 years) was more common than in older dogs (≥6 years) (24%, vs. 0%, 63 and 27 isolates, respectively, p = 0.02). Staphylococci in younger dogs were more resistant to tetracycline (48% vs. 11%, p < 0.001) and sulphatrimethoprim (48% vs. 15%, p < 0.01) than those in older dogs. In contrast, the isolates of E. coli from older dogs tended to be more resistant, although a significant difference was detected only in resistance to tetracycline (13% vs. 2% of 40 and 50 isolates respecthely, p = 0.04)). The results of this small study indicate that resistance in canine staphylococci in the capital area of Finland is comparable with many other countries in Europe. Resistance in indicator bacteria, E. coli and enterococci, was low.

In May 2012, an outbreak of campylobacteriosis occurred in southern Sweden at a wedding reception affecting 44 persons. A total of 17 cases were notified (13 were culture positive for Campylobacter spp.). Epidemiological investigation suspected chicken liver pâté as the source of infection. The liver pâté had been deliberately undercooked, lightly fried to keep the right texture and mixed with spices. Campylobacter isolates from six cases as well as three Campylobacter isolates from chicken flocks previously raised by the producer delivering the liver were subtyped using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and whole-genome sequencing. Indistinguishable PFGE profiles were identified among five human and one chicken C. jejuni isolates as well among the two C. coli isolates, one from a human case and one from a chicken. WGS supported the PFGE findings; the six C. jejuni isolates belonged to one cluster. All these six isolates were of MLST type ST 50 (ST-CC 21). This study highlights the importance of a combination of strict biosecurity at the flock-level as well as adequate cooking of chicken liver to prevent transmission of Campylobacter to humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To create and implement a Whole Personhood in Medical Education curriculum including Visual Thinking Strategies (VTS), close reading, and creative practice that features creative works by BIPOC, persons with disability, and/or LGBTQ + individuals that aligns with educational competencies., Materials and Methods: Curriculum design by an interdisciplinary team made up of physician educators, medical sociologist, digital collection librarian, and art museum educators. Prospective single arm intervention study at a single site academic teaching hospital. Utilized pre-post surveys using the Interpersonal Reflexivity Index (IRI) scale on perspective taking, an internally developed ordinal scale survey on arts integration and bias recognition, and open-ended questions for qualitative analysis., Results: A total of 161 participants responded and showed statistically significant increases in their mean scores in perspective-taking (4.7%), empathic concern (1.8%), the perceived value of art in medical education (15.8%) and recognizing bias (6.1%). In all subscales, non-white students saw bigger increases than white students, and in three of four subscales, females showed higher increases than males. Qualitative analysis of free text responses (n = 308) showed three emergent themes: (1) increased community; (2) recognition of bias in personal, interpersonal, and system levels; and (3) increased awareness of application of empathy and perspective taking in health settings., Conclusions: Incorporating a required curriculum that features art and written narratives by minoritized groups and utilizes close observation/reading and reflective/creative practice, leads to an enhanced medical education experience. The curriculum leads to statistically significant increase in individuals' ability to identify bias, recognize perspectives different than their own, and be empathetic toward others., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:Elizabeth Lahti reports financial support was provided by Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation. Elizabeth Lahti reports financial support was provided by Tykeson Family Foundation. Lisa Abia-Smith reports financial support was provided by Coeta and Donald Barker Foundation. Lisa Abia-Smith reports financial support was provided by Tykeson Family Foundation. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Salmonella is a significant pathogen of human and animal health and poultry are one of the most common sources linked with foodborne illness worldwide. Global production of poultry meat and products has increased significantly over the last decade or more as a result of consumer demand and the changing demographics of the world's population, where poultry meat forms a greater part of the diet. In addition, the relatively fast growth rate of birds which is significantly higher than other meat species also plays a role in how poultry production has intensified. In an effort to meet the greater demand for poultry meat and products, modern poultry production and processing practices have changed and practices to target control and reduction of foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella have been implemented. These strategies are implemented along the continuum from parent and grandparent flocks to breeders, the farm and finished broilers to transport and processing and finally from retail to the consumer. This review focuses on common practices, interventions and strategies that have potential impact for the control of Salmonella along the poultry production continuum from farm to plate., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

The zoonotic bacteria, Brucella canis , is becoming the leading cause of canine brucellosis in Europe. In dogs, it causes reproductive problems as well as non-specific lameness or discospondilitis. In humans, B. canis can be origin of chronic debilitating conditions characteristic to its genus such as undulant fever, splenomegaly, and lymphadenopathy. Although B. canis shows some pathogenic characteristics similar to B. abortus and B. melitensis , it lacks surface O-polysaccharide, like nonzoonotic B. ovis . This review shows that host- B. canis interactions are still poorly understood, with many knowledge and capability gaps, causing relatively poor sensitivity and specificity of existing diagnostic tools. Currently, there is no vaccine for this rough Brucella species. Besides, antimicrobial therapy does not guarantee bacterial elimination, and infection relapses are frequently reported, increasing the risks of antibiotic resistance development. B. canis has been detected in dogs in almost all European countries which increased human exposure, but currently there is no systematic surveillance. Moreover, B. canis caused brucellosis is not included in Animal Health Law, and therefore there is no legal framework to tackle this emerging infectious disease. To map out the diagnostic strategies, identify risks for human infections and propose management scheme for infected pet and kennel dogs, we present current understanding of canine B. canis caused brucellosis, outline major knowledge gaps and propose future steps. To address and highlight challenges veterinary and public health services encounter in Europe, we developed two B. canis infection scenarios: of a single household pet and of a kennel dog in larger group.

Importance: As health professionals acknowledge the historic and current influences racism has on patient care and health outcomes, leaders must develop antiracist activities to disrupt current narratives., Objective: To examine the outcomes of antiracism funding opportunities for development, implementation, and evaluation of initiatives across a multi-health professions academic university., Design, Setting, and Participants: This mixed-methods cohort study involved the evaluation of 17 antiracism projects conducted at a midsize single academic university in the Pacific Northwest with schools of dentistry, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and public health. Projects were designed by students, faculty, staff, and community members, many of whom were from diverse backgrounds. Data collection and analyses were conducted between January and December 2022., Main Outcomes and Measures: Influence and reach of institutionally funded antiracist projects and best practices for funding them. Key metrics included project types, allocation of funds, level of community engagement, number of individuals engaged, demographic characteristics of project leaders, and project facilitators and barriers., Results: Forty-two proposals were submitted, and 17 were selected for funding, representing 3 of 5 health profession schools. Study teams included women (15 of 19 [79%]), gender queer (1 [5%]), Asian American (5 [26%]), Black or African American (2 [11%]), Hispanic or Latinx (1 [5%]), Middle Eastern, North African, or biracial (4 [21%]) and White (7 [37%]) individuals. Four of 17 teams (24%) returned funds because their proposed projects exceeded their workload. Eight projects (47%) were fully implemented, most in the School of Medicine. Community engagement surveys were completed by 10 projects (59%), and 1741 participants engaged in 1 or more funded events. Two focus groups were attended by 7 of 17 projects (41%), which reflected diversity among grantees. Participants noted that facilitators of antiracist activities included strong community engagement, improved well-being, and sense of support by both the community and the institution. Barriers to advancing antiracist initiatives included restrictive timelines, being unprepared for the time needed for their efforts, distrust from community members due to previous experiences with diversity and inclusion projects, and difficulties navigating complex institutional systems and processes., Conclusions and Relevance: The findings of this study suggest that efforts needed to implement antiracist change should not be underestimated. Engagement should be inclusive across academic health centers and communities. Future efforts need to support innovator full-time equivalent support, individual mentorship, and institutional sponsorship.

We compiled data on notified cases of leptospirosis in animals and humans in Sweden. Published studies on leptospirosis in humans and animals from the beginning of the 20th century onwards are summarized. During the Second World War, hundreds of leptospirosis cases in humans were reported in Sweden, but since then, there have been only a few severe cases. Surveillance of leptospirosis in domestic animals demonstrates that the pathogen is still occurring. The occurrence of Leptospira in humans and animals in the other Nordic countries resembles that in Sweden. Leptospirosis is an underdiagnosed and underreported disease globally, both in animals and humans, partly due to the lack of simple, rapid diagnostic tools but possibly also due to the lack of awareness among physicians, veterinarians and nurses. Traditionally, leptospirosis has been mostly diagnosed by serology, but development of molecular methodshas improved the capability for correct diagnosis. As of today, leptospirosis is regarded as a relatively uncommon disease in the Nordic countries, but in some other countries, it is considered a neglected zoonosis or a (re-)emerging disease that may become more common in the future. Possible factors that could contribute to an increase in incidence are discussed in this review. Active surveillance of humans and domestic and wild animals and stringent rodent control in society and animal farms are of outmost importance for prevention.

Introduction: Type 2 diabetes has been associated with cognitive decrements already in middle-age. However, the sample sizes of the studies have been small and the neuropsychological tests used have been heterogeneous. In addition, only a few studies have matched the groups in terms of age, education and gender. In this cross-sectional matched pairs study, we investigated the cognitive performance of Finnish middle-aged type 2 diabetes patients compared to healthy individuals., Method: A neuropsychological test battery consisting of 16 tests and 21 outcome measures was applied to 28 patients and 28 age-, education- and gender-matched healthy individuals. Various exclusion criteria were applied to minimize the risk of cognitive dysfunction due to factors other than diabetes., Results: We did not find between-group differences in any of the neuropsychological tests measuring attention, concept formation and reasoning, construction and motor performance, executive functions, memory, processing speed or working memory. In addition, there were no group differences in the frequency or severity of subjective cognitive symptoms, or in anxiety, depression, burnout, fatigue or alcohol use disorder symptoms. The effect sizes in this study were mostly negligible or small, with the mean effect size being -0.12., Conclusions: In a carefully matched sample of middle-aged type 2 diabetes patients and healthy individuals, we found no significant effects and no meaningful evidence of cognitive differences between the groups.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is one of the most severe human tick-borne diseases in Europe. It is caused by the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), which is transmitted to humans mainly via bites of Ixodes ricinus or I. persulcatus ticks. The geographical distribution and abundance of I. ricinus is expanding in Sweden as has the number of reported human TBE cases. In addition to tick bites, alimentary TBEV infection has also been reported after consumption of unpasteurized dairy products. So far, no alimentary TBEV infection has been reported in Sweden, but knowledge about its prevalence in Swedish ruminants is scarce. In the present study, a total of 122 bulk tank milk samples and 304 individual milk samples (including 8 colostrum samples) were collected from dairy farms (n = 102) in Sweden. All samples were analysed for the presence of TBEV antibodies by ELISA test and immunoblotting. Participating farmers received a questionnaire about milk production, pasteurization, tick prophylaxis used on animals, tick-borne diseases, and TBE vaccination status. We detected specific anti-TBEV antibodies, i.e., either positive (>126 Vienna Units per ml, VIEU/ml) or borderline (63-126 VIEU/ml) in bulk tank milk from 20 of the 102 farms. Individual milk samples (including colostrum samples) from these 20 farms were therefore collected for further analysis. Our results revealed important information for detection of emerging TBE risk areas. Factors such as consumption of unpasteurized milk, limited use of tick prophylaxis on animals and a moderate coverage of human TBE vaccination, may be risk factors for alimentary TBEV infection in Sweden., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Background: Rhinovirus (RV) is often detected in children hospitalized with pneumonia, but the role of RV in causing pneumonia is still unclear., Methods: White blood cell count, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, and myxovirus resistance protein A (MxA) levels were determined from blood samples in children ( n  = 24) hospitalized with radiologically verified pneumonia. Respiratory viruses were identified from nasal swabs by using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assays. Among RV-positive children, the cycle threshold value, RV subtyping by sequence analysis, and the clearance of RV by weekly nasal swabs were determined. RV-positive children with pneumonia were compared to other virus-positive children with pneumonia, and to children ( n  = 13) with RV-positive upper respiratory tract infection from a separate earlier study., Results: RV was detected in 6 children and other viruses in 10 children with pneumonia (viral co-detections excluded). All RV-positive children with pneumonia had high white blood cell counts, plasma C-reactive protein or procalcitonin levels, or alveolar changes in chest radiograph strongly indicating bacterial infection. The median cycle threshold value for RV was low (23.2) indicating a high RV load, and a rapid clearance of RV was observed in all. Blood level of viral biomarker MxA was lower among RV-positive children with pneumonia (median 100 μg/L) than among other virus-positive children with pneumonia (median 495 μg/L, p  = 0.034) or children with RV-positive upper respiratory tract infection (median 620 μg/L, p  = 0.011)., Conclusions: Our observations suggest a true viral-bacterial coinfection in RV-positive pneumonia. Low MxA levels in RV-associated pneumonia need further studies., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2023 Hartiala, Lahti, Toivonen, Waris, Ruuskanen and Peltola.)

Introduction: Several Proficiency Test (PT) or External Quality Assessment (EQA) schemes are currently available for assessing the ability of laboratories to detect and characterize enteropathogenic bacteria, but they are usually targeting one sector, covering either public health, food safety or animal health. In addition to sector-specific PTs/EQAs for detection, cross-sectoral panels would be useful for assessment of the capacity to detect and characterize foodborne pathogens in a One Health (OH) perspective and further improving food safety and interpretation of cross-sectoral surveillance data. The aims of the study were to assess the cross-sectoral capability of European public health, animal health and food safety laboratories to detect, characterize and notify findings of the foodborne pathogens Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp. and Yersinia enterocolitica , and to develop recommendations for future cross-sectoral PTs and EQAs within OH. The PT/EQA scheme developed within this study consisted of a test panel of five samples, designed to represent a theoretical outbreak scenario., Methods: A total of 15 laboratories from animal health, public health and food safety sectors were enrolled in eight countries: Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The laboratories analyzed the samples according to the methods used in the laboratory and reported the target organisms at species level, and if applicable, serovar for Salmonella and bioserotype for Yersinia ., Results: All 15 laboratories analyzed the samples for Salmonella , 13 for Campylobacter and 11 for Yersinia . Analytical errors were predominately false negative results. One sample ( S . Stockholm and Y. enterocolitica O:3/BT4) with lower concentrations of target organisms was especially challenging, resulting in six out of seven false negative results. These findings were associated with laboratories using smaller sample sizes and not using enrichment methods. Detection of Salmonella was most commonly mandatory to notify within the three sectors in the eight countries participating in the pilot whereas findings of Campylobacter and Y. enterocolitica were notifiable from human samples, but less commonly from animal and food samples., Discussion: The results of the pilot PT/EQA conducted in this study confirmed the possibility to apply a cross-sectoral approach for assessment of the joint OH capacity to detect and characterize foodborne pathogens., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Tast Lahti, Karamehmedovic, Riedel, Blom, Boel, Delibato, Denis, van Essen-Zandbergen, Garcia-Fernandez, Hendriksen, Heydecke, van Hoek, Huby, Kwit, Lucarelli, Lundin, Michelacci, Owczarek, Ring, Sejer Kjeldgaard, Sjögren, Skóra, Torpdahl, Ugarte-Ruiz, Veldman, Ventola, Zajac and Jernberg.)

Thermophilic Campylobacter species are the most common cause of bacterial gastroenteritis worldwide, and handling and consumption of broiler meat is considered a major foodborne transmission route. Both the incidence of campylobacteriosis and the prevalence of Campylobacter in broilers show seasonality but the impact of this association and broiler prevalence on human incidence is not clear. To explore this relationship we applied two approaches for analyzing time series data using different time resolutions (weekly, bi-weekly or monthly data) of human campylobacteriosis cases and prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in broiler slaughter batches in Sweden between 2009 and 2019. The decomposition of time series into seasonal (S), long-term trend (T) and residual components (STL model) showed a close overlap in seasonal patterns in terms of timing and the proportional change of peaks from normalized yearly levels. Starting 2016, when a large outbreak was reported, there was significant overlap in the trend components as well. The trend component of human cases prior to the outbreak corresponded to a linear increase of 6.5 % cases annually. In comparison, the estimated annual increase in broiler consumption was 2.7 %. An additive approach for time-series counts incorporating seasonal and epidemic (cases are a function of previous cases) components found a positive association between human cases and broiler prevalence with an optimal lag of 2 weeks, 1 bi-week, or 0 months. Considering the estimated time between slaughter and consumption, incubation time, and the time between on-set of disease and testing, a 2-week lag may be consistent with transmission via handling and consumption of fresh broiler meat. The best model included broiler prevalence as a factor in the epidemic model component, not in the seasonal component. The outcomes in terms of best model, optimal lags and significance of parameters, using weekly, bi-weekly or monthly data were, in general, in agreement but varied with data resolution when only a subset of the time series, not including any known broiler associated outbreaks, was analyzed. The optimal resolution based on the available data and conditions of the present analysis appeared to be weekly or bi-weekly data. Results suggest that broiler prevalence with a 2 week lag period can explain part of the human cases but has a smaller explanatory impact during the part of the study period not including the large known outbreaks. There is no simple relationship between broiler prevalence and human cases. Additional factors than broiler prevalence need to be evaluated in order to understand the transmission routes and epidemiology of campylobacteriosis., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: Before COVID-19, the previous pandemic was caused by influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus in 2009. Identification of factors behind parental decisions to have their child vaccinated against pandemic influenza could be helpful in planning of other pandemic vaccination programmes. We investigated the association of parental socioeconomic and psychosocial factors with uptake of the pandemic influenza vaccine in children in 2009-2010., Methods: This study was conducted within a prospective birth-cohort study (STEPS Study), where children born in 2008-2010 are followed from pregnancy to adulthood. Demographic and socioeconomic factors of parents were collected through questionnaires and vaccination data from electronic registers. Before and after the birth of the child, the mother's and father's individual and relational psychosocial well-being, i.e. depressive symptoms, dissatisfaction with the relationship, experienced social and emotional loneliness, and maternal anxiety during pregnancy, were measured by validated questionnaires (BDI-II, RDAS, PRAQ, and UCLA)., Results: Of 1020 children aged 6-20 months at the beginning of pandemic influenza vaccinations, 820 (80%) received and 200 (20%) did not receive the vaccine against influenza A(H1N1)pdm09. All measures of parents' psychosocial well-being were similar between vaccinated and non-vaccinated children. Children of younger mothers had a higher risk of not receiving the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine than children of older mothers (OR 2.59, 95% CI 1.52-4.43, for mothers < 27.7 years compared to ≥ 33.6 years of age). Children of mothers with lower educational level had an increased risk of not receiving the vaccine (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.00-2.14)., Conclusions: Mother's younger age and lower education level were associated with an increased risk for the child not to receive the 2009 pandemic influenza vaccine, but individual or relational psychosocial well-being of parents was not associated with children's vaccination. Our findings suggest that young and poorly educated mothers should receive targeted support in order to promote children's vaccinations during a pandemic., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

This brief article describes the process of adopting a baby boy immediately after the child is born and the adoptive mother has met the birth mother in the hospital. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Aims: In October 2019, a citizens' initiative to decriminalise cannabis use started a large debate about drug policy in Finland. This study examines online discussions about the initiative to supplement the current knowledge about citizens' drug opinions. The focus is especially on argumentation techniques that are used to support or object to the decriminalisation., Design: Methodologically, the study is based on discourse studies, new rhetoric, and argumentation analysis. The data of 1,092 messages were collected from a popular Finnish anonymous discussion forum Ylilauta., Results: Online discussions about the legal status of cannabis are highly polarised. Decriminalisation is often both supported and resisted in a strong and affective manner, and even hate speech is not rare in the data. Statements made by both discussion parties often lack any argumentation or are based on fallacies, especially ad hominem arguments. Some discussants refer to scientific studies and expert statements, even though such references are usually inaccurate. Cannabis is compared to alcohol more often than to other illegal drugs., Conclusions: The emotional responses and inadequate argumentation might be partially explained by the general nature of online discussions and the culture of the investigated website, but also by the powerful stigma related to illegal drugs and insufficient knowledge on the subject. A future objective is to create a societal atmosphere where the complex question of the legal status of cannabis could be discussed more neutrally and rationally., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflicting interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© The Author(s) 2021.)

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the need for hospitals to plan for a potential "surge" of COVID-19 patients., Problem: Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, our hospital adult acute care capacity ranged 90% to 100%, and a potential hospital surge was projected for Oregon that would exceed existing capacity., Approach: A multidisciplinary team with stakeholders from nursing leadership, nursing units, nurse-led case management, and physicians from hospital medicine was convened to explore the conversion of an ambulatory surgical center to overflow patient acute care capacity., Outcomes: A protocol was rapidly created and implemented, ultimately transferring 12 patients to an ambulatory surgery unit., Conclusions: This project highlighted the ability for stakeholders and innovators to work together in an interprofessional, multidisciplinary way to rapidly create an overflow unit. While this innovation was designed to address COVID-19, the lessons learned can be applied to any other emerging infectious disease or acute care capacity crisis., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Livestock, domestic pets and wildlife can be intestinal carriers of thermotolerant Campylobacter species. These reservoirs can in turn contaminate the environment and food products, thus creating pathways to campylobacteriosis in human beings. The purposes of this study were to investigate sampling strategies applied for surveillance of Campylobacter on dairy cattle farms and to identify the presence and species of Campylobacter in different age groups., Methods: Boot sock and faecal samples were collected from five dairy herds from three age groups-cows, heifers and calves younger than 12 months-and from milk filters., Results: Campylobacter species were isolated in 152 of 250 samples, of which 93 isolates were identified as C jejuni , 51 as C hyointestinalis , two as C lari and one as C coli , whereas five isolates could not be identified to species level. Campylobacter species were isolated from 86 of 110 faecal samples, 60 of 97 sock samples and six of 43 milk filter samples., Conclusion: Faecal samples were the optimal sample type for detection of Campylobacter on dairy farms. However, taking multiple types of samples could be recommended in order to optimise the recovery rate and variety of Campylobacter species detected when investigating the presence of Campylobacter on dairy farms., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© British Veterinary Association 2019. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Rhinovirus (RV) is the most common cause of respiratory tract infections in children but, still, the clinical characteristics of RV-associated pneumonia have not been sufficiently investigated. Methods: We identified children and adolescents younger than 18 years of age treated for community-acquired pneumonia as inpatients at the Turku University Hospital from 2003 to 2014 and analyzed for RV by PCR of a respiratory tract specimen. We collected the data from medical records and compared RV-positive children with RV-negative children. Results: Of the study population of 313 children with pneumonia who were studied for RV, it was detected in 82 (26%). RV-positive children were younger (median age 2.6 years, interquartile range [IQR] 1.1-4.6 vs. 3.5 years, IQR 1.7-8.3, p = 0.002) and they had more often a history of preterm birth (16% vs. 5%, adjusted odds ratio 2.89, 95% confidence interval 1.21-6.92, p = 0.017) than RV-negative children. RV-positive children had a higher median white blood cell count than RV-negative children at presentation with pneumonia. The signs, symptoms, and severity of pneumonia were mostly similar in RV-positive and RV-negative children. Conclusions: RV was frequently detected in young children hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia. We identified premature birth as a factor associated with RV-positive pneumonia. The clinical features of pneumonia did not clearly differ between RV-positive and RV-negative children. Further studies are needed to clarify the clinical significance of detection of RV in children with pneumonia., (Copyright © 2019 Hartiala, Lahti, Forsström, Vuorinen, Ruuskanen and Peltola.)

In 2016, an outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium (STm) with multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) profiles historically associated with passerine birds (2-[11-15]-[3-4]-NA-212) occurred among passerines, cats and humans in Sweden. Our retrospective observational study investigated the outbreak and revisited historical data from 2009-16 to identify seasonality, phylogeography and other characteristics of this STm variant. Outbreak isolates were analysed by whole-genome single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing. The number of notified cases of passerine-associated STm among passerines, cats and humans per month and county, and their MLVA profiles, were compared to birdwatchers' counts of passerines. Seasonal trend decomposition and correlation analysis was performed. Outbreak isolates did not cluster by host on SNP level. Passerine-associated STm was seasonal for birds, cats and humans, with a peak in March. Cases and counts of passerines at bird feeders varied between years. The incidence of passerine-associated STm infections in humans was higher in the boreal north compared with the southern and capital regions, consistent with passerine population densities. Seasonal mass migration of passerines appears to cause STm outbreaks among cats certain years in Sweden, most likely via predation on weakened birds. Outbreaks among humans can follow, presumably caused by contact with cats or environmental contamination.

Over a period of less than four weeks, 50 human cases of cryptosporidiosis were reported from a relatively small geographical area in Sweden. All cases were associated with visits to cattle spring pasture events at two farms (referred to as Farm A and B). Epidemiological and microbiological evidence show that contact with calves at the farms was the most likely source of Cryptosporidium infections. Gp60 sequences from human and calf isolates at Farm A were identical to each other, but differed from those at Farm B where, again, human and calf gp60 sequences were identical, proving that the two outbreaks had no common origin. As a direct consequence of these two outbreaks, and guided by knowledge gained from the outbreak investigations, the Swedish Board of Agriculture and all relevant farmer advisory organizations have updated their hygiene instructions for farm visits., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)